From the April 4th Foundation Chairman

The April 4th Foundation, Inc. is delighted that the Organization of American Historians has decided to join us in embracing this historic thirty-fifth commemorative of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fairness, justice, and equality of all races, which Dr. King called for, are as poignant today as when they were firts challenged. Therefore, this year's theme of "Reaffirmation" is one of the pillars that the April 4th Foundation, Inc. presents as part of our goal to "Tell the Story . . . Pass it ON."

Let it be recorded that in a nation still so deeply divided by racism we must deomnstrate to one another that racial equality can be achieved. The Foundation takes its commitment to Reconciliation, Reaffirmation, and Renewal seriously. We believe the fundamental principles of the Civil Rights Movement can be lived out with passion and perseverance when we are able to grasp and employ new and effective models for reaffirming a new commitment to Dr. King's "Dream."

The April 4th Foundation, Inc. pertinaciously understands that it is in memphis, above all cities adn nations of the world, that we espouse the life of Dr. King. Always remembering that one's reach is farther than one's grasp, we must continue to "Reaffirm" the goal of Dr. King's Dream.

Johnson E. Saulsberry, Jr.
Chairman, April 4th Foundation, Inc.

OAH and April 4th Foundation Events

Wednesday, 2 April

6:30 p.m.
April 4th Foundation Film Festival at Rhodes College

8:00 p.m.
Rhodes College Gilliland Symposium Lecture and Reception
Bryan Campus Life Center, Rhodes College
Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, OAH President-Elect

Thursday, 3 April

8:00 p.m.
OAH Plenary Session
Martin Luther King, Jr.: History, Memory, and Social Justice

Friday, 4 April

8:30 a.m.
April 4th Foundation Civil Rights March from LeMoyne-Owen College to Mason Temple COGIC

9:00 a.m.
April 4th Foundation Commemorative Services at Mason Temple COGIC

7:30 p.m.
April 4th Foundation Commemorative Gala Awards Banquet

Saturday, 5 April

April 4th Foundation Third Annual Golf Tournament

11:15 a.m.
Labor and Working Class History Association Luncheon
Black Worders, Martin Luther King, and the Memphis Sanitation Strike: Labor and Civil Rights Movements at the Crosroads
Michael Honey, University of Washington

1:00 p.m.
OAH Session:
Reflections on "Movements at the Crossroads": Yesterday and Today

3:00 p.m.
Freedom Through Songs: A Performance by Hollis Watkins

7:30 p.m.
OAH Awards Ceremony and Presidential Address
American Slavery in History and Memory
Ira Berlin, University of Maryland

For more information about the April 4th Foundation, visit their website <http://www.april4thfoundation.org>